


Love and Beauty

by atlanxic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Love Confessions, Nonbinary Character, Other, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 10:44:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11355849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlanxic/pseuds/atlanxic
Summary: "Are you sure you're not talking about love?"





	Love and Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> loosely set after the 8th support convo

"Ryuji was right, you know?" Yusuke says, as you're walking them to the subway station. Their eyes are alight with passion. "True beauty can never come from a selfish heart," You don't think that's quite what Ryuji was getting at, but you don't interrupt them. "Beauty is a gift, it can only exist in the spirit of charity. Beauty is... It's what you give me. You're always there for me, you've been there to support me when no one else was. I used to struggle, because I didn't know if I wanted more to repay your kindness or to pursue true beauty, but I understand now that they're one and the same! That I can only pursue beauty by expressing my gratitude. That I can only express my gratitude to you by showing you the beauty that you've shown me...!"

A few things cross your mind. You want to tell them that they don't have to get so worked up about it. You want to tell them that you're glad they're feeling so passionate. But what comes tumbling out of your mouth is, "Are you sure you're not talking about love?"

Yusuke stops dead in their tracks. A passerby almost walks into them. A blush slowly blooms across their face.

"Akira," they say, red-faced. "Do you think I'm in love with you?"

You can feel yourself go weak in the knees. They can't know how cute they are. Again, you're full of words, but your tongue is thick in your mouth. It's ok if you are, you think. I hope you are. "I'm in love with you, too." you say, and your face goes red as well. Idiot, you think to yourself. You'd barely even realized it yourself and now you've spilled the beans.

"I..." they say. "I need time to think. I'll call you."

The clatter of their change as they enter the subway line rings loud in your ears. You pull your phone out.

>Ann  
>I'm an idiot

You're back in your bed by the time she responds.

>What happened?

You don't want to go into detail about it. You're so embarrassed. Why can't you ever express yourself the way you want to?

>I told Yusuke that they're in love with me, and I with them

>And?

>And then they left

>Then you're both idiots  
>For being this worried about it  
>Everyone knows you're in love with each other  
>We were just waiting for you to figure it out

>But what if they're not?

>Trust me  
>They are

You fall into a fitful sleep.

\---

You wake up, disoriented, to your phone buzzing. Thinking it's your morning alarm, you swipe it and roll over, trying to mentally prepare yourself for the day.

But it's still dark out, and after a minute you can hear a faint voice from your phone. Someone was calling you?

"-ra, are you there?" comes Yusuke's voice.

"Yeah," you reply. Your mind starts racing immediately, but you can barely decipher your own thoughts. What time is it? Why is Yusuke calling you in the middle of the night? What if you offended them? Well, obviously you offended them, for them to storm off like that. Ann must be mistaken, there's no way they could be... You don't even want to think it. You're so embarrassed.

"Akira, I need you to meet with me," Yusuke declares. "I believe we have something important to talk about. If it's not too much trouble, could you meet me outside my school? I'm out of subway fare."

You don't tell them that calling someone in the middle of the night and demanding they meet with you is the definition of "too much trouble." Instead, you tell them you'll be there soon.

They hang up, and you look at your phone. Two forty AM. They must be really worked up. You feel sick. You get dressed and make your way to Yusuke's school.

They're leaning against the closed gates and checking their phone when you arrive.

"Akira," they exclaim, looking up. "I've been waiting for you,"

Before you can think long enough to formulate a response, they continue. "I'm sorry to call you out here in the middle of the night, I felt like this is the sort of conversation we should have in person. It's important."

He's going to talk to you about boundaries and not making assumptions. He's going to be angry with you. He starts walking, and you follow him without questioning where he's going.

"But before we can really talk," they say. "I need to know. Did you mean what you said this afternoon?"

You're tempted to tell them that of course you didn't, you just wanted to see how they would react. You want to change the subject and comment on how crisp the air is, on a clear night like this. You can even see some of the stars, despite all the light pollution, isn't that amazing? But they're clearly taking this seriously, and it would be a disservice to them to say anything other than the truth. You might be anxious, but you have the guts to power through it, and meet their eyes.

"Of course I did," you say, your solemn tone undermined by the blush across your cheeks. You want to tack on a disclaimer, that you meant it about your own feelings, but you have no idea about theirs, and honestly it was rude and presumptuous of you to talk as if you knew what they were feeling. But the words won't leave your mouth.

"Thank you," Yusuke says. The two of you are stopped on a narrow strip of grass between the school and the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. Blue streetlights reflect of Yusuke's indigo hair and pale skin, and they look to be almost glowing.

"Once again, I've learned something about myself and about the world because of you," they say. "You were right." They take both your hands in theirs, and look you in the eyes. "I'm in love with you."

You open your mouth to say something, but the words won't come to you. Not a rush of options, not a flood of conflicting thoughts. Just a pure, contented rush of satisfaction that you can't imagine putting words to. So instead, you pull them down, just a bit, and kiss them.

They gasp, a quiet sound that nonetheless conveys the drama of their emotions. Their hands tighten around yours. They press closer to you. Feet shuffling, lips shifting. Their tongue brushes against your lips and you pull back, shaking slightly with the adrenaline of the moment.

"I'm sorry if that was too forward," Yusuke tells you.

"No, it's fine," you reply, and squeeze their hands back.

The way the streetlights hit their eyes makes them look like gemstones, and the stars above them seem to be shining brighter just to live up to that splendor, and in that moment, you realize that if Yusuke was talking about love earlier, they must have been talking about beauty as well, because they're one and the same.

Yusuke is in love with you, and you have never felt more beautiful than you do with their shining eyes focused on you like you're the only thing that matters in the universe.


End file.
